Mordecai's Courage

What is courage? It is defined in Webster's as mental or moral strength to venture,

persevere and withstand danger, fear or difficulty. Eddie Rickenbacker said, "Courage
is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared."
Jewishencyclopedia.com goes further and says this, " Courage is that quality which
enables one to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness, calmness, and
intrepidity." This is backed up by the scripture, for example, in Deuteronomy 31:6 it
says Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy
God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. This site
then goes to make a very impactful notation. "But the Bible sets more value upon
moral courage (over physical), which is so prominent in the life-history of the Jew,
and which goes far to explain the power of resistance that he has shown at all times
against those who made plans for his destruction. This courage is fostered by
confidence and trust in God."

This is how Mordecai lived his life. With total confidence, trust and faith in God. If
you've read the book of Esther, you may be wondering why the focus of who God is
in the song, hence, this post, is about Mordecai instead of Esther. Wasn't she the one
who had to show courage when she went before the king without being called for,
which could have ended her life on the spot? Yes, she was. And like Mordecai, her
courage was fostered by her trust in the Lord, as well as her trust in Mordecai. Let us
lay out some history.

Who exactly were Mordecai and Esther? Mordecai was a descendent of King Saul and
was from the tribe of Benjamin. Esther 2:6 tells us that he was of those who had been
carried away from Jerusalem into captivity during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.
Esther, whose birth name was Hadassah, was his cousin, but since she was orphaned,
he raised her as his adopted daughter. Not only was Mordecai of royal descent, she
was as well. When word came out that King Ahasuerus was going to crown a new
queen, and she was brought into the king's house, Mordecai told her not to make it
known that she was Jewish. Once she was there, Mordecai didn't leave her to her own
devices, Chapter 2:11 says And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the
women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her. Eventually,
Esther would be crowned queen and obtained favour in the sight of all them that
looked upon her (2:15)

I have to pause here to talk about the king's gate. When we think about a gate, we
think about a portal that allows us to pass from one side of a fence to the other. The
gate that we are talking about here wasn't just a single gate. There was an outer gate,
which led to a courtyard like area and then there was an inner gate. Within the gate,
business was conducted, court was held, announcements were made. Numerous times
throughout scripture we will see individuals sitting within the gates. And it was within
the gate that Mordecai's courage plays out.

A day arose that while Mordecai was sitting in the gate, he overheard two of the king's
chamberlains plotting to assassinate the king. Mordecai then got word to Esther and
upon being discovered, both men were hanged and it was written in the chronicles
before the king. (Esther 21-23) Then king then promoted a man named Haman and
placed his seat above all the other princes. It is interesting to note that while Mordecai
was a descendant of Saul, Haman was a descendant of King Agag, the Amalekite. In
Chapter 15 of 1 Samuel, the Lord spoke to Saul through the prophet Samuel, telling
him to "Go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them
not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass."
(verse 3) Saul however did not carry out this command, angering the Lord. Fast
forward to the book of Esther, and we now see the set up for another showdown
between the men of these nations.

Proverbs 16:18 states Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a
fall. This is a scripture that sums up Haman. When Haman was in the gates, everyone
that was there bowed and reverenced him, in accordance with the king's command.
Well everyone but one person. Mordecai. The king's servants would ask him why he
was disobeying the king, and they would ask him daily. But Mordecai payed no
attention to them, so, they ratted him out. They told Haman that Mordecai wouldn't
bow, and also that he was a Jew. When Haman saw that Mordecai wouldn't bow, he
was livid and plotted to kill not just him, but every Jew in Persia, and got the King to
sign the decree. Instead of running and hiding, Mordecai doubled down in his faith.
He rent his clothes, put on sackcloth with ashes and went into the city and "cried with
a loud and bitter cry". The Jewish people, along with Queen Esther and Mordecai
went into a time of fasting, weeping and praying about the situation they found
themselves in. Esther mustered her courage, a trait that she learned growing up under
a man of faith. While she was working things from her end, the king couldn't sleep
and pulled out the books of record and ran across the entry of how Mordecai had
uncovered the murder plot. When he found out that nothing was ever done to honor
him, he asked Haman how such a man should be honored. Haman, of course thinking
that the King was referring to him, (PRIDE) went over the top with his reply saying
that he should be dressed in the king's royal apparel and ride the king's horse, with a
crown upon his head, and be led through the city by one of the king's most noble
princes proclaiming "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to
honor." And the king said, "Make is so, for Mordecai the Jew, everything you said, oh
and you be the prince to lead him through the city and make the proclamation."
(Esther 6)
In the end, the tables would be turned on Haman, and he would swing from the very
gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Mordecai stood in a God given courage
from the moment Esther was taken to be considered for queen, until God worked
everything to completion and his enemy was executed.

There is a moment in the New Testament where we see Jesus himself stand in that
same God given courage. When He went to the Garden to pray, He knew in full detail
what was about to happen to Him. He knew the physical torment that He was fixing to
endure, yet He prayed, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me;
nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done." Being a man, He didn't want walk the
road of His purpose, but being the Son of God, He leaned on that God given courage.
The next verses goes on to say, "And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven,
strengthening Him. And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was
as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground." Luke 22:42-44 No greater act of
courage has there ever been than that of Jesus.

We are living in a time where we must be courageous, as Mordecai was. Cancel

culture has made it where we are afraid to say the wrong thing or our accounts will get
deleted, our content moderated or that we will even be told we are putting out hate
speech because of our faith. We have to find that courage that can only come from
God and not be afraid to be the light of the world, and the salt of the earth as He
commanded us to be in Matthew 5:13-16. Multiple times He has told us to be of good
courage, because HE is our courage, just as He was Mordecai's courage. He embodied
that courage Himself to show us that we can do anything, because it's HIS power and
HIS might that operates IN us. As the Psalmist said in Psalm 31:24, Be of good
courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. Be
courageous and walk the road of your purpose. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
goes before you.